With years spent reading single issues here and there, juggling storylines of dozens of titles, I decided it was time to find a better way to read comics. So, it was off to the back issue bins armed with the longest want list you’ve ever seen! Putting together series after series and reading them in their complete goodness, I was reborn as the Retro-Reader!
Publisher: Marvel’s MAX Comics
Number of Issues: 4
First Issue: November 2008 ($3.99)
Last Issue: February 2009 ($3.99)
Writer: Brian Keene
Artist: Chris Samnee
Cover Artist: Kaare Andrews
*Warning! Plot Spoilers Below*
After his wife left him, Sergeant Danny Sylva decided it was time to re-enlist and was promptly shipped back to Iraq. On a raid, he discovers a plot by a rogue sect of demons and angels to hasten the Apocalypse by starting xenogenesis (the rebirth of demons on Earth), hoping to prompt an angelic invasion that’ll begin the end of the world. But, he’s going to stop it because he’s this generation’s Shagish Chultepi (English translation: Devil-Slayer) and, armed with the Sword of Naram-Sin and clothed in the Shemagh, he’s the only one who can.
The Bad: Making Sylva the great-nephew of Eric Simon Payne (the Devil-Slayer that most Marvel fans will be more familiar with) seems a bit of an unnecessary connection.
the Good: Referencing the original Devil-Slayer and his well-documented insanity was a nice nod to Marvel continuity. The coloring scheme, coupled with Samnee’s art, does a great job of capturing the darkness and desolate nature of war as well as the horror of encountering a demon. The covers by Kaare Andrews are the cherry on top of this artistic ice cream sundae.
The Verdict: Keene tells a truly frightening story here and creates a new hero from the legacy of an old one. The story allows us to discover all of these seemingly crazy and unnatural things at the same time as the main character, allowing us to form a “bond” with him … both of us experiencing things that are better left unexperienced. I never felt that the previous Devil-Slayer got his proper moment in the spotlight but, here’s hoping that this one will. The last page hints at future battles against Hellstorm and Dracula that I’d really like to see!
On Ebay: Devil-Slayer | Dead of Night | Kaare Andrews | Brian Keene | Chris Samnee